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In every area of practice, WilmerHale brings the insight, dedication to excellence, and commitment to client service needed for our clients to achieve their business objectives. Our five-department structure and team approach to service enable us to provide the highest level of responsiveness and access to lawyers with the most appropriate experience.

Our well-established investigations, litigation, regulatory, corporate and labor law practices often help resolve delicate matters that typically arise as a consequence of compliance issues.

WilmerHale is a leading law firm for cross-border and internal investigations and compliance advice. We focus on anticorruption, antifraud, antitrust, data privacy/protection, health care, labor law, and employment and manufacturing compliance issues, and we do so domestically, internationally and across borders.

While conducting business in today’s global economy, many companies are faced with navigating complex cross-border issues and compliance and regulatory requirements. We assist clients in addressing issues in connection with their operations in the EU, United States and other countries, including interactions with and investigations by EU and US regulators. Our European and US practices have been involved in some of the biggest and most challenging compliance projects and investigations.

Overview

Our compliance experience covers all relevant areas, with a primary focus on anticorruption, antifraud, antitrust and data privacy issues. And in addressing matters that typically arise as a consequence of compliance issues, our well-established investigations, litigation, regulatory, corporate and labor law practices are equipped to help find a resolution.

We have assisted clients in building and improving their compliance organizations. We help clients in the setup of their internal regulatory framework, for example, by drafting a code of conduct or internal guidelines. We also have designed and conducted training programs at all levels, from distribution and marketing to management.

We assist clients when serious compliance issues occur. In many cases it becomes necessary to investigate potential breaches of company policy or law; terminate responsible employees or managers; represent clients who have damages claims against third parties, including D&O insurers; or represent clients being sued by third parties.

Often, compliance issues are driven by regulatory bodies and public prosecutors. We have longstanding experience in representing clients before major German public prosecutors’ offices (such as Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich), tax authorities, and regulatory bodies such as the German banking regulatory authority (BaFin). We also assist companies in Europe in their interactions with US drug and medical device regulators, and in navigating these companies’ anticorruption programs and investigations. Recently, we assisted EU-based companies with issues relating to US regulators who have been exercising their extraterritorial powers with regard to manufacturing compliance issues in the drug and medical device areas.

In the UK, we represent clients before the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and in the United States we represent many publicly listed companies, financial services providers and investment companies in investigations and proceedings before the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Investigations

Some examples of our investigations work include:

Representing a global banking and financial services organization in Switzerland, Monaco, Hong Kong and Singapore in connection with allegations of US tax fraud.

Heading a multi-jurisdictional legal and accounting team in connection with the SEC’s accounting and control investigation of an international retailer’s European operations in Holland, Belgium, Scandinavia, Poland, Czech Republic and Spain.

Investigating civil and criminal liability of former members of management boards of one of Europe’s leading truck manufacturers and transport-related engineering groups and its affiliates; completing compliance review of its foreign subsidiaries.

Reviewing a German multinational automotive corporation’s group-wide compliance systems with regard to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other anti-bribery issues under the relevant anti-bribery legislations.

Investigating the foreign sales operations of a German subsidiary of a US multinational company with regard to payments to agents and consultants in Eastern Europe, Russia and other Commonwealth of Independent States countries.

Investigating allegations that employees of a German multinational company providing transportation services were aware of cartel agreements between suppliers, and did not take measures to stop such agreements.

Conducting an investigation at the request of a large European telecommunications group to determine if critical strategic decisions concerning the group’s positioning in the telecommunications and Internet markets were made in violation of German corporate regulations.

Investigating a possible board leak of a strategic merger plan which, as a result of the leak, had to be abandoned; the investigation covered the company concerned and legal and investment banking advisors.

Completing an internal investigation for a European energy company into alleged irregularities concerning the consolidation of group companies.

Leading an investigation of French money laundering issues for a large US insurance company, involving US, French, Belgian and Luxembourg criminal and insurance regulatory and tax issues, and providing strategic advice on defense and compliance issues.

Completing two internal investigations into allegations of unauthorized trading and other compliance violations by employees of a UK-based bank.

Conducting an internal investigation for a major UK financial services firm relating to policies and procedures to identify accounts held by undisclosed principals; included review of firm’s implementation of the British Banker Association’s Non-Investments Products Code. Also worked closely with lawyers in our Washington DC office to respond to related inquiries from the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Conducting various internal investigations and responses to regulators (in the UK and US) on behalf of leading investment banks during regulatory investigations into practices of “market timing” in the trading of mutual funds.

Representing a leading investment bank relating to the conduct of its UK and Japanese operations.

Conducting an internal investigation of UK and European subsidiaries of a US telecommunications company following whistleblower allegations of revenue recognition issues and fraud.

Representing numerous US multinational companies and European companies in connection with allegations of improper payments to individuals in Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Russia.

Compliance Advice

Some examples of our compliance advice include:

Providing compliance advice to a German multinational car manufacturer regarding its dealer and distribution network.

Counseling a biotech company in the Netherlands on the creation of a compliance program to govern the marketing of its products in the United States.

Working with three of the world’s leading telecommunications equipment manufacturers to create a “compliance alliance” focusing on anticorruption measures of their third-party relations.

Recognizing the enormous talent and major recent victories of WilmerHale lawyers, The American Lawyer placed the firm's Litigation/Controversy Department in the small group of finalists for the legal publication's 2017 Litigation Department of the Year contest.

China has issued for public comment draft standard-like guidelines to govern cross-border data flows to further implement China's heightened concern over national security and cybersecurity, as embodied in the National Security Law (2015), Cybersecurity Law (effective June 1, 2017) and related laws and regulations.

Chambers and Partners announced its rankings for the 2017 edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, with WilmerHale listed among the nation's best in 50 practice area categories. Chambers also ranked 86 WilmerHale lawyers as leaders in their respective fields.

The recommendations are selected by JUVE based on interviews with clients, lawyers and academics that assess a respective law firm's legal excellence, strategic direction, service orientation and future potential.

Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business announced its final rankings for the 2016 edition, with WilmerHale ranking among the nation's best in 47 practice area categories. Chambers also ranked 82 WilmerHale lawyers as leaders in their respective fields.

Thirty-one WilmerHale lawyers are named among "The World's Leading Lawyers for Business" in the 2015 edition of Chambers Global. In addition to these individual accolades, the firm is recognized in 17 practice areas that span six different regions.

In every area of practice, WilmerHale brings the insight, dedication to excellence, and commitment to client service needed for our clients to achieve their business objectives. Our five-department structure and team approach to service enable us to provide the highest level of responsiveness and access to lawyers with the most appropriate experience.